North Las Vegas Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography Crimes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 8, 2010

Las Vegas, Nev. – A convicted sex offender who lived in North Las Vegas and was found guilty in May of possessing and transmitting images and movies of child pornography over the Internet, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

"For the second time in a week, a defendant has been sentenced to 15 years minimum in prison for a federal child pornography conviction in Nevada," said U.S. Attorney Bogden.

"Convicted sex offenders who think they can sexually abuse children through the use of technology will be tracked down by federal, state and local investigators, and face stiff penalties when caught."

Ezra Hallock, 43, of North Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced on Tuesday, September 7, 2010, by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to 180 months in prison and lifetime supervised release. Hallock was convicted of receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography on May 18, 2010, following a two-day jury trial. Hallock has a prior felony conviction in Idaho for sexual abuse of a minor, and thus, was subject to a 15-year minimum mandatory sentence under federal law.

In 2005, investigating agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Seattle, Washington, began an investigation involving the transmission of child pornography over the Internet. The targets of the investigation were using Google's "Hello" program to send and receive digital child pornography images to a Washington State resident. Investigators determined that one of the persons who were distributing the images was Ezra Hallock, of North Las Vegas. ICE Agents searched Hallock's North Las Vegas residence in October 2006, and recovered two laptop computers, 13 computer hard drives, over 1300 media storage devices, and over 600 images and movies of child pornography. A federal grand jury indicted Hallock in December 2006 on child pornography charges. Hallock was arrested on December 17, 2006, and he has been in federal custody since that date.

"Every time a sexually explicit image of a minor is produced, transmitted, or viewed, a child is victimized," said Richard Curry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for ICE Office of Homeland Security Investigations in Las Vegas. "We will continue to work tirelessly to seek justice for those who mistakenly believe the Internet makes them invisible and invincible."

The investigation was conducted by U.S. ICE Office of Homeland Security Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy J. Koppe and Roger Yang.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the U.S. Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.